Screen production on the ‘biggest set in the world’: Northern Ireland Screen and the case of Game of Thrones

Abstract

The publicly funded screen development agency, Northern Ireland Screen, has been the key institutional actor in the exponential growth of the screen industries in Northern Ireland. The most prominent production to be based in Northern Ireland has been Home Box Office’s Game of Thrones, which had much of its eight seasons filmed in the region. Significant amounts of public finance have been offered to the screen industries, with direct funding provided to augment United Kingdom-wide tax breaks. However, there has been a lack of critical analysis of the recipients of this finance, on the precarious nature of many of the jobs that have been created, or on the stated benefits to the economy. This article subjects the role of Northern Ireland Screen to policy analysis to attempt to fill this scholarly gap. Setting the subject into the context of public support for film and television across the United Kingdom, it is argued that the economic argument for providing direct financial support to the screen industries needs to be viewed in the context of the overall impact on society.

Public Service Media Interventions: Risk and the Market

“…On the one hand this points to the positive contribution of PSM organizations relative to their size and their capacity to grow the economy beyond the creative market. However, as has been argued in the film and television production literature (Ramsey et al 2019 ), solely measuring economic impact can be something of a ‘blunt instrument’, where it doesn’t take into account the broader social impact. As D’Arma ( 2018b ) has pointed out, the BBC did try to widen out the use of the multiplier effect in its foundational document on public value .…”

“…Crucially, in the quest to lure international investment, the labor market is often a prominent part of the package promoted by nations, alongside other forms of ‘soft money’ (see Ramsey et al 2019 ). However, what is overlooked are the ways PSM organizations shoulder the financial burden and risk of creating and sustaining this labor market both through commissioning content and other activities such as training and apprenticeships.…”

Berlin as location and production site for transnational TV drama

“…It would be difficult, for example, to define the local colour of Game of Thrones (2011–2019), which is shot in several countries from Croatia, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, to Iceland, Malta, Morocco and Spain, and in different locations across these various nations. Furthermore, Ruth McElroy and Catriona Noonan (2019) and Phil Ramsey et al (2019) reveal how support from Northern Ireland Screen resulted in a temporal reinforcement of the local production culture based in Belfast and its surroundings but without a sustainable impact. With the end of the series, it is therefore difficult to see how Northern Ireland Screen will be able to attract a similar transnational production, for Game of Thrones as McElroy and Noonan argue ‘enjoys a significant production budget, setting it apart from many productions, especially indigenous drama’ (2019: 134–135).…”

“…The nature of film and transnational television production as a kind of runaway production makes it difficult to establish an industry on a permanent basis (Castendyk, 2018). Therefore, the sustainability of public funding must be questioned (see also Ramsey et al, 2019). Nevertheless, Berlin will be an important location and production site for transnational drama production in the near future, because Berlin 'has secured its place in history, not just as a centre of cinematic innovations, but as a site of political and cultural upheaval and a mirror of the turbulent twentieth century' (Kraenzle, 2012: 107).…”

Bringing the Battle to Britain: Band of Brothers and Television Runaway Production in the UK

“…13 As Jack Newsinger points out: 'While no one would dispute the value to British film and television workers of inward investment… [t]he primary beneficiaries are the Hollywood studios' (2012: 141-142). As Phil Ramsey et al (2019) have demonstrated, the economic argument for providing public funding to the likes of HBO -'welfare for the wealthy' (Guback in Mayer and Goldman 2010)and claims concerning the beneficial 'Game of Thrones effect' do not fully stand up to scrutiny. With increasing deregulation and market fragmentation, the ever-present fear of losing out to increasingly global competition and the suitability of runaway productions for side-stepping trade union action (Ward and O'Regan 2007), the neoliberal 'race to the bottom as conglomerates hopscotch the globe' identified by Michael Curtin and Kevin Sanson (2016: 7) looks set to continue.…”